A Good War
by Smithereens
Summary: One war has been won, but can Albus avoid the temptation of this new power? In order to stay a hero, he creates a villain. Can he repair his mistake now that the villain is winning?
1. Dangerous Inventions, an Introduction

A Good War

By: Smithereens

Chapter One: Dangerous Inventions, an Introduction

"We're already ten minutes late to the Great Hall you know, you can stop arguing anytime," Harry Potter yelled over the voices of his friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Today was the day they would be leaving Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for Christmas Break at the Burrow, and their arguing was going to make them very late. The arguing didn't stop after his comment, but at the very least it got their feet moving and they were heading towards to the Great Hall. You would think that after almost six years of being best friends the arguing would lessen a bit, but that just wasn't how Hermione and Ron worked.

"Oh come on Hermione, it's not like we'll be playing Quidditch every day!" Ron exclaimed, readjusting his cloak so that he could carry his trunk easier.

"Yes, but I still don't see how you're going to have the time to play at all and still finish all of your work! McGonagall's essay alone is going to take at least two days for writing and revision," said Hermione, checking her bag one more time to make sure she had all of the books she needed.

Harry, absolutely sick and tired of hearing their argument all morning long, gritted his teeth and jumped in, hoping he wasn't going to make anything worse. "I reckon Hermione's right Ron," said Harry, to Ron's dismay. "Well, not about the school work." Ron's face lifted. "We have more important things to spend our time doing than Quidditch." Ron looked like he was going to cry. "Hogwarts isn't safe anymore. The Burrow is barely safe. This war is escalating and more and more people are dying. When we can play Quidditch is the least of our problems."

Harry's statement stunned them all into a thoughtful silence. A few days previous The Hogwarts Express and a large chunk of Hogsmeade were wiped out by Death Eaters. Some say that Voldemort himself was there, but no witnesses close enough to the event survived. The Department of Magical Law Enforcement has still been unable to conclude what sort of spell could have possibly destroyed so much of the magical town with seemingly so little effort. One moment everything was there, then there was a loud explosion and there was nothing. Many students who watch Muggle television said it seemed like something out of an action movie. A bomb.

The Daily Prophet had hinted at Voldemort and his Death Eaters toying with new and horrible spells, but none except a variation on the Cruciatus had been seen used before. The new _Crucio_ not only caused immeasurable pain, it also caused you to relive the most painful memories in your life, much like the effect of a dementor. Or at least, that's what the healers at St. Mungo's surmise that it does. No one that has suffered under the curse and survived has been able to speak yet.

This new "bomb" invention shocked everyone much more than the other, as it hit so close to Hogwarts. Many students had been pulled out of school, regardless of blood status. There were as many students that left from Slytherin as any other house. That alone spoke to the seriousness of the current situation.

Because of this, all students would be going home for the holidays. No one was allowed to sign up to stay at the school, not that many of them would have elected to. The students would be going home by floo, which took some serious organizing. There were three days allotted for travel, as there was only one fireplace connected to the Floo Network in Hogwarts, for safety reasons. Ron, Harry, and Hermione had elected to travel the last day, which left them hurrying to the Great Hall in an almost empty castle. Given how late they were running, the teachers were probably the only ones left waiting to go home.

"You're right Harry," Ron agreed, breaking the silence. "I- I can't believe I was daft enough to believe that this could be a normal holiday."

"Oh Ron, you're not daft," said Hermione, "We all wish it could be a normal holiday."

They all started to walk closer together, arms over each other's shoulders and heads bowed down. They walked down two sets of staircases this way, until Ron slipped. Laughing a bit, Harry and Hermione stopped to help him up.

"Really Ron, you still haven't memorized the trick steps," Harry laughed, and Ron looked grim. "Sorry mate," Harry apologized lowering Ron back down to the ground, but Ron's expression didn't change.

"We were just teasing, really," Hermione said softly, kneeling down to look him in the eye.

"Say something," Harry said, kneeling as well. Hermione shook Ron's shoulders, but there was no reaction. Ron's pupils seemed to be growing larger and larger, then his eyes turned entirely black, and he fell over.

"Something's wrong, we have to get to Madam Pomfrey!" Harry yelled. Hermione's face echoed his panic as they dropped their things. "You levitate him to the Great Hall, I'll run ahead and get Madam Pomfrey," Harry told her, then turned and ran as fast as he could. Sobbing, Hermione cast the spell and started walking Ron down after Harry, taking care not to jostle him.

"Ah, Mister Potter, not quite fashionably late," Severus Snape, potions professor said to Harry as he ran into the Great Hall and tripped a few yards from the door.

"Ron- Ron! Something's wrong!" Harry yelled, fighting to catch his breath, slowly pushing himself up from the floor.

"Then lead us to him my boy," Dumbledore said, standing up from his chintz armchair that was next to the fireplace. "Poppy, Severus, please accompany us. Minerva, floo the Burrow and let Molly know. Everyone else, please stay here." With a quick nod, McGonagall and the other teachers did as they were told, and Harry turned around and started sprinting back to Ron with Dumbledore, Snape, and Madam Pomfrey close on his heels.

They met Hermione on the second floor, tears still streaming down her face. She lowered Ron slowly when she heart Harry running up the stairs, then collapsed next to Ron and grabbed his hand.

"Hermione, please get up. We're going to finish taking him to the Hospital Wing," Madam Pomfrey said softly. Hermione obeyed and edged over. Madam Pomfrey levitated Ron once more and carefully but quickly ran him down the staircase and into the Hospital Wing on the first floor, the others close behind her.

Once in a bed it became very apparent how serious the situation was. Harry could hardly breathe when he saw that Ron's face was a terrible ashen gray that looked especially terrible next to the bright white sheets on his bed. Madam Pomfrey shooed everyone away as she began to work, casting revealing spells all over Ron, lifting his arms, opening and looking into his eyes, which caused her to cry out softly. She hesitated for only a second before getting back to work.

"Is he going to be okay?" Harry asked worriedly, his voice cracking with emotion. He looked from Dumbledore to Snape, and neither of their faces offered him any comfort. He sat down on the bed next to Ron's and pulled Hermione down with him. They sat for several minutes, staring at Ron. His skin was turning darker.

"It's a good thing Ginny left already. It would kill her to see him like this," Hermione whispered to Harry. Harry swallowed and nodded. Their grief was so large that he couldn't imagine how much greater Ron's family's grief would be.

"Severus!" Pomfrey yelled when a spell she cast on his eyes reflected a grayish green light. Snape was over at the bed before she yelled, having seen what happened.

"What, what is it," Harry yelled, jumping up from the bed. "Tell me!"

"No, it can't be," Severus muttered, rushing the cupboard for an empty vial. He ran back and wordlessly cut Ron's finger and let a few red drops of blood into the vial. "_Prosapis Revelio_," he whispered, wand pointed at the vial. The blood turned from red to gray to black, then just simply disappeared. Eyes wide, he dropped the vial. "No," he said again, "He can't have succeeded. I told him it was impossible."

"What was impossible? Tell me what is happening to my best friend!" Harry screamed, pulling Snape around to look at his face. "TELL ME NOW!"

Nothing could have prepared him for the guilt written on his potions professor's face. Harry swallowed and choked back a sob. He didn't need the professor to tell him. He knew the second he looked into his eyes. Harry let Snape go and ran to Ron's side, Hermione slowly following him, her sobs painfully loud in the now quiet room.

"Severus how…" Madam Pomfrey began to ask as she left Ron's bed. Dumbledore held up his hand and quieted her, then turned to Severus.

"Severus," Dumbledore said softly, "This is not your fault." The Potions professor didn't meet his eye. "Look at me now," Dumbledore said with force, causing Snape to flinch and look up slowly. "You did everything in your power to prevent this. Everything. He did not get his information from you, and you cannot hold yourself responsible for this boy's death."

"But surely you know," Severus said with disdain dripping from his voice, "That this means it isn't only 'this boy' whose blood is on my hands. All of them, Albus. Except maybe Arthur or Molly, depending on who was poisoned."

"What?" It was Hermione's turn to yell now. "What the bloody hell are you talking about? All of who? ALL OF WHO?" She stood up slowly, but never let go of Ron's hand. She screamed as his hand separated from his arm and then disappeared in her hand. "Oh Merlin," she said, and she fell to her knees. "Ron I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry," she began to sob into his sheets. Madam Pomfrey, Dumbledore, and Harry stared in shock. The only person not surprised was Professor Snape, who walked over to Hermione. He knelt down next to her, and whispered something to her. Hermione's face shot up; she looked into his eyes and then nodded.

"I'm going to the Burrow," Snape said, and he rushed out of the Hospital Wing.

"Professor, please, what is happening?" Harry cried, looking up at Dumbledore from Ron's side. "Why is this happening to him? Can't you make it stop? DO SOMETHING!"

"My boy," Dumbledore said, "There is nothing to be done. This is an invention of Lord Voldemort's: a truly disgusting combination of a curse and a poison that should have proved to be impossible. How he managed to make it work is a mystery to all of us."

"But what is it doing? Why is he disappearing?" Harry whispered. Hermione's sobs started again.

"This is something Voldemort has long wanted to create," Dumbledore explained. "Something that would wipe out everyone directly related to the person that was cursed. Large families are difficult to capture or kill. This horrid creation needs only the mother or father of the family, and once the cursed potion is administered they will die, along with everyone that shares their blood."

Madam Pomfrey gasped and sank on to a bed. Hermione stopped crying and looked up at Dumbledore, disgust written across her face. Harry stared at the floor, and slowly realized what this meant.

"All of them," he said, as he turned to Ron and watched his feet disappear. "Snape meant all of the Weasleys. He said all but Molly or Arthur, so that means…"

"That means if one of them was poisoned, the other would survive," Hermione whispered, her voice hoarse from crying. "They aren't related to each other by blood. Their children share their blood though, so Ron, and Ginny, Fred and George, Bill, Charlie, even P-P-Percy…" She began to cry again.

"Poppy and I are going to leave," Dumbledore stated, clutching Madam Pomfrey's arm and helping her up off the bed. "You don't have much time left right now, but he might be aware of what is going on around him. Ronald Bilius Weasley," Dumbledore said, now facing Ron. "Know this. The person responsible for this is going to pay for what he has done to your family. I promise you." He then turned and left the Hospital Wing, Madam Pomfrey next to him.

As the rest of Ron's body began to disappear, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger clutched hands over their dying friend. They looked into each other's eyes and made a silent vow. Voldemort was going to die for this, and he would die by their hands.

After a few moments, Ron's head disappeared, leaving an empty bed. Hermione sunk down and laid her head down, no more tears left. Harry sat next to her and stared at the pillow. At the Burrow, Severus Snape was holding a weeping Molly Weasley. Minerva McGonagall reported back to the Headmaster's office, where an old guilty man realized that his "good war" had just been lost.

~(-)~

So, that's the beginning! Other chapters might be longer, but probably only once a month updates, if that.  
I would like to point out that the use of a cursed potion also occurs in Free Will and Fate by Sara Winters, which is a very interesting time-travel fic.  
Questions? Concerns? Horrible typos? Let me know!

Thanks for reading.


	2. I'm Sorry, What?

A Good War

By: Smithereens

Chapter Two: I'm Sorry, What?

When Harry woke up, he decided that waking up was a very bad idea and he should stop doing it right away. But his mind wouldn't let him go back to sleep. Memories of what happened the day before hit him like three tons of bricks and he sat up with a start. Someone must have checked on him during the night and moved him into a bed, because the last thing he remembered was sitting next to Hermione on the ground.

"Hermione? Where are you?" he called, looking around the room in a panic.

"Harry, put on your glasses," Hermione said softly from the bed to his right.

He grabbed his glasses of the bedside table and looked over at her, smiling sheepishly. The smile faded from his face very quickly though. Hermione looked terrible. Harry imagined that he probably didn't look too hot himself.

"It doesn't seem real," Hermione said as she started to cry. "It's as if we're in the Hospital Wing and Ron should be coming in any moment to check on us and bring us food and make excuses as to why he didn't bring me notes from History of Magic."

"Yep, sounds like Ron alright," Harry said. They both looked over at the empty bed Ron had died in the night before. "What are we going to do now?" Harry asked softly as his own eyes filled with tears.

"I am sorry to interrupt your grieving," the voice of Albus Dumbledore said from the doorway, "But I might have an answer to your question Mr. Potter. If you could both get ready and come up to my office we can discuss things further."

Harry and Hermione looked at each other and then back at the doorway. It sounded as if the headmaster had already headed up to his office.

"Well I suppose we should go," Harry said. There was a change of clothes next to their beds, they both closed the curtains and got ready.

As they walked up the stairs it was as if the castle itself was grieving. It was the same old familiar Hogwarts, but it had just lost a student within its very walls. The stairways moved a little slower, the portraits looked a little sadder. Harry and Hermione both found themselves wondering if the castle had felt the same after Myrtle was attacked so many years ago. The first of what was turning into a long line of students killed by Voldemort.

When they finally made it to the stone gargoyle guarding the headmaster's office, they were both very pleased that it opened for them immediately. Neither particularly felt like spending the next ten minutes shouting out the names of sweets.

The door to Dumbledore's office opened before Hermione could knock. The two of them walked slowly towards the Headmaster's desk, eyes on the ground the whole time. It might have been grief messing with their senses, but both of them were dreading this meeting. They slowly sat down in the two chairs in front of his desk, and looked up at their headmaster. Dumbledore pushed a small bowl towards them, and they each took a lemon drop without complaint. They waited in silence for a minute, none of them quite sure where to start. Finally, Dumbledore took a deep breath, and started speaking.

"I cannot express how sorry I am for your loss," he started. "Your friendship with Ronald Weasley contained some of the strongest bonds of camaraderie I have ever witnessed. Each of you would have willingly given your life for the other with no hesitation. The love you have for each other will last forever.

"Your adopted family is now broken. Molly is the only surviving Weasley. She and Arthur had welcomed you into their home as often as they could, and both of you benefitted greatly from their care. Especially you, Harry. I have no doubt that the Weasleys helped fill a place in your heart that had long been empty. Yesterday we lost eight friends. The loss has been devastating. Do either of you have anything you would like to tell me?"

Both friends had started crying again. It was so hard to believe that the once happy red headed family was now reduced to one member. Hermione was the first to regain a small amount of composure.

"Sir, where is Mrs. Weasley? I can't even imagine what she must be going through. Can we see her?" she asked between sniffles.

"Molly is…" Dumbledore faltered slightly, and frowned. "I'm really not sure it would be a good idea to see her like this. When Severus went to see her, she was hysterical. She has still not let go of his robes. She is staying in a room near his quarters. She would not speak to me when I went to see her. She has merely sat on the bed and clutched Severus's robes. Molly is a strong woman, but only time will tell if she will be okay."

Harry grabbed Hermione's hand as Dumbledore was explaining. By the end both of their fingers were white from gripping each other so hard. Their second mother might not be okay. Molly Weasley, a force to be reckoned with, might be shattered beyond repair.

"Sir, you said you had an answer for me. Please tell me," Harry begged, "What are we going to do now?"

It might have been a trick of the light, but Harry swore he saw Dumbledore's eyes light up for a moment, before dulling to fit the somber mood. "That my boy," he said, "Will require breakfast. Now, since it is Christmas break and there is no way you will be able to stay at the Burrow, both of you will be staying at Hogwarts. Hermione, we will also need to have your parents moved here. Having all three of the Grangers under a single roof will serve to better keep you safe. Harry, the protections already on the Dursley's house should prove to protect them, but they have been warned to alert me if anything untoward occurs, and knowing your aunt it would be noticed immediately."

The two teenagers nodded. Hermione was both glad to be able to spend Christmas with her parents and sad that she would never get to see her home again until this was all over. Harry didn't wish anything bad upon the Dursley's, but frankly did not care about their current living conditions.

"Very well," Dumbledore said. "Let us get more comfortable and then we shall have breakfast." With a few wand motions, Dumbledore banished his desk and conjured a small dinner table. All of their chairs scooted in closer, and in moments a breakfast buffet appeared on the table. Dumbledore began piling his plate with eggs, while Hermione and Harry helped themselves to a slice of toast each.

After eating a fairly large portion of his breakfast, Dumbledore began.

"The Weasley's were not the only ones affected by the Disappearing Death, as the Ministry is calling it. Four other ministry employees were poisoned yesterday."

"Who," Harry breathed, grasping Hermione's hand again.

"Kingsley Shacklebolt, Amos Diggory, Nymphadora Tonks, and Amelia Bones."

Tears sprung to their eyes. More lives taken, families torn apart. And it was never going to stop.

"How? How could he have managed to poison so many of them?" Hermione asked.

"The sad thing is that it was probably very easy Miss Granger," Dumbledore said, shaking his head. "Most people don't check everything they eat or drink for poison, and even if they had there is speculation that it would have seemed like merely water. Nothing would have seemed amiss.

"I don't have to tell you how serious this is. All it takes is a few drops of this poison on a sandwich, in some tea; even absorbed through the skin it may have the same effect. Voldemort's opposition will be completely destroyed. We will all be victims, one way or another. But, we cannot abandon hope. There is one thing that will save us. One single thing that you two can do that will severely cripple Voldemort, leaving him open for defeat."

"Anything sir. Anything," Hermione said without fear, tears starting to dry on her face. Harry's eyes echoed her statement.

"You will need to make sure Tom Riddle never makes a Horcrux. He has made six, and while these Horcruxes are whole he can never truly die, for each houses a piece of his very soul."

Hermione looked perplexed, but Harry's expression did not change.

"To be honest sir, that explains a lot. I am a little confused though. If he has already made them, how are we supposed to stop him?" Harry asked.

"I'm afraid you two will need to go back in time."

If anything could have been found comical about the situation, the look on his student's faces would have been cause for laughter. But the headmaster was completely serious, and waited until they finally snapped out of their shock induced stupor.

"But sir, we'd be breaking at least—"

"Yes, at least fifty-four and a half laws Miss Granger," Dumbledore interrupted. "But since the Ministry will crumble in days, we shall not worry about these pesky laws. What I will need to the two of you to worry about is being able to fit in at Hogwarts in 1942 and getting close enough to young Tom Riddle to save the world. You said before you would do anything to save us, that is still true correct?"

They both nodded their agreement, eyes still wide.

"But even if it's possible to get to 1942 sir, how would we get back?" Hermione asked.

"If you succeed, you will not be able to return. It is my hope that the future you help create will be a much brighter place, and I'm afraid you two will no longer have the same place in it. I hate to ask you for this sacrifice, but it is the only way."

"We'll do it. I don't care what we have to do, we're going to do it," Harry said with feeling. He looked over at Hermione, making sure he didn't speak to soon. She looked scared for a moment, but then steeled herself and met his eyes. She turned to the headmaster and nodded.

"Then let us begin our history lessons. I'm afraid we haven't much time."

* * *

A few days later found them in the headmaster's office again. Hermione was able to meet with her parents for a short time, but with danger growing every second they were focusing on their job at hand. They needed to have their history (which would soon be their present) down pat, and they needed to get used to their new names. Their first names weren't changed much- Harry became Harold, so if Hermione called him Harry it wouldn't seem strange. His last name was kept because the magical Potters were a very large family, he wouldn't stand out at all. Hermione was more difficult to rename. It was decided that her first name would be kept (Harry would have definitely slipped up and called her Hermione anyway), but she would be a Potter as well. Dumbledore would cast a few slight glamour charms on them to make them look a little bit more like brother and sister, and he was teaching Hermione so that she could reapply them should they ever fail. The plan was coming together very nicely, they were set to leave within a week.

"It should be perfectly believable to have you both start as 5th year students," Dumbledore explained. "You've only finished the first half of this year, so it won't be too much repetition. Miss Granger you may have to hold back in class a bit, but besides that I don't perceive any problems. This is the year that Tom first talked to Professor Slughorn about Horcruxes, so I am not sure how much he already may know about them. Any book in the Hogwarts library that even so much as vaguely references them will be taken out as soon as you give my letter to myself. I will also be letting myself know to make sure that Horace cannot speak about anything related to Dark Magic with Mr. Riddle. This is a terrible thing I will have to do to a colleague and a friend, but it is necessary. I just hope I trust myself enough to do it. Once that is done that should be sufficient to block his sources of information. If he has his mind made up to find out more information and to use Horcruxes, it will fall on you two to try to deter him in any way possible. Luckily he will not have as many resources yet, so you might prove successful. Now, let us begin again at 1900 and work our way up."

The rest of the day was spent revising. Having gone to muggle primary schools, Harry and Hermione both knew some muggle history of the war, but hadn't learned as much of the wizarding side. Well, Hermione knew quite a bit about both, but still patiently sat through their lessons, memorizing as much as possible.

"Dinner will be served as soon as your timelines are complete," Dumbledore announced. The two students started scribbling furiously. They worked hard all afternoon and were very hungry.

"I just realized sir," Harry said after finishing his timeline, "We'll be arriving three years before you defeat Grindelwald. You don't think that anything that we do will change the outcome do you? Because if we fail at keeping Riddle from making Horcruxes and Grindelwald is still around, we will have changed history for the worse, not the better."

"I understand your concern Harry, but though you will be something new to my past self, I am not giving myself much information. I am hoping that the lack of knowledge coupled with the fact that you two will only be extra faces in my classroom will help me stay on the same course. That is another reason why it is so important that you two try to do as much of this as you possibly can on your own. The more people you involve the bigger the chance is for a change for the worst. It would be best to not trouble yourselves with these thoughts, and head to your common room for dinner and to rest. Soon, you will embark on the most important journey anyone has ever had to take. I will see you both in the morning." Dumbledore finished as he waved them off.

Albus sat down slowly as he watched the students leave. He hated to ask this of them. They should not have to pay for his mistakes. But he was far too old to take this journey himself, and even with the wisdom that comes with age, he simply did not trust his own judgment. It had failed him far too often already. He leaned forward to rest his face in his hands. "I am such a fool," he whispered to himself. He brought his quill and parchment out, and tried again to write himself a letter that might make him recognize his many mistakes…

* * *

"You two are doing great jobs, I think you're going to fit in fine," the headmaster praised after a round of tests the next evening. "Nearly perfect marks Mr. Potter, you'll probably know your history better than the students that are living it. There is one thing that you cannot be tested on though, and this single thing will be vital to the success of your trip. I'm- I am not sure exactly how I can help you with this," Dumbledore started.

"What is it sir?" Harry asked, a little worried. He thought that everything was going really well.

"You will need to get close to Mr. Riddle. No one ever really managed to accomplish that, not even his Slytherin classmates that would become his first Death Eaters. Tom was incredibly charming, but he never really made friends, only allies that turned into servants. He was always cold, even as a first year student- it only grew worse as he got older. His closest allies already refer to him as 'Lord Voldemort,' and his 'Knights of Walpurgis' are already making plans to devastate the world."

"We can do it sir, we know it will be difficult, but we can do it. At the very least we can become one of his Knights," Hermione pledged.

"I know you can. I do believe in the both of you. It's just- His fifth year at Hogwarts was a very eventful year. The faster you can get on Tom's side, the more good you can do. I'm sure at least Ms. Granger has realized this, but during the second term Tom opened the Chamber of Secrets. If it is impossible to prevent, then please do not try. It may be too soon, and you cannot give yourselves away. The horcruxes are still your primary mission."

"We'll do everything we can sir. It would be easier if we could guarantee ourselves spots in Slytherin though," Harry replied.

"Yes, it would," agreed Dumbledore, "But we know there is no guarantee. Let us hope that asking the Sorting Hat to place you there will be enough. Now off you go. Enjoy your dinner and rest well. Think over what I have told you about Tom, it may be the most important thing to remember." He smiled and watched them depart. He then left to wait for Severus- he should be back from the meeting at any moment.

* * *

At nine the next morning the two students reported to the headmaster's office. The gargoyle let them up immediately, Dumbledore having given them permission to enter his office at any time. When they opened his door they were surprised to not see him at his desk. Dumbledore was always sitting down waiting for them when they arrived. They sat down in the smaller student desks he had provided for them, and looked around. Some of the small silver gadgets on his desk seemed to be behaving more odd than normal, and there was a feeling of unease in the room.

"Something's not right," Hermione said after a few minutes. "The headmaster has never kept us waiting. There must have been another attack."

Harry nodded solemnly. "I hate to agree with you, but there's no other reason. He would have at least sent a note, he had to have left in a hurry."

A few more minutes passed. Hermione pulled a book out of her bag and started quizzing Harry on some of the older versions of the more common spells they already know. There were only a few slight variations, but it was important that they did everything the same as the students in that time period. It would raise all sorts of questions if they used spells that hadn't even been invented yet.

"Good try Hermione, but this isn't helping to take my mind off of it," Harry said after fifteen minutes of quizzing. "We need to go figure out what's going on."

"You're right Harry, I guess I was just hoping he would let us know. The fact that he still hasn't contacted us at all means it's probably more serious than we think."

They collected their things and after one more look around to see if Dumbledore had left any indication of where he was, they headed out of the office. Since the teachers and a few other members of the Order were the only people in the castle right now, meals had been served in a small lounge area near the headmaster's office. Harry and Hermione headed there, hoping to find someone.

"Greetings, poor students," said Professor Trelawney as soon as they walked in.

"Oh, good morning professor, we were wondering what was going on," Hermione started, "We were supposed to meet the headmaster earlier but he never showed up."

"I have too often been the bearer of bad news. I shall tell you nothing except that you will find answers in the hospital wing," the Divination professor said eerily.

Harry had already started shifting uncomfortably back out the door, so Hermione said a quick thank you and turned out the door. They almost ran to the hospital wing, afraid of what they might find there. The sounds of their steps must have been loud, Dumbledore opened the doors as soon as they were near.

"I'm so sorry to not contact you, but I am glad that you found me. There was an attack this morning on Diagon Alley," the headmaster said gravely.

"Oh no," breathed Hermione.

"How many?" asked Harry, now too familiar with these sorts of situations.

"At least thirty were killed, mostly by their bomb spell, but many others were given the Disappearing Death. Because of that I'm sure the number is at least triple that. There were also many tortured with their new Cruciatus that may as well be dead. Today however, something much worse happened. We tried to stop the attack."

There were a few moments of confused silence.

"I don't understand. How is that bad professor?" Harry asked.

"Voldemort has been suspecting a spy in his Inner Circle for about a month now. Severus was very successful at convincing him for a time that it was actually due to incompetent Death Eaters that so much information had been leaked, but Tom had started only giving information to Death Eaters that he explicitly trusted, and that excuse no longer sufficed. He has been testing each of his followers. Before an attack, he notified only one single person. The rest just showed up when they were called. If the Order was there when they attacked, he would know who alerted them. When we were there this morning to help, we unknowingly gave up Severus as the spy. To say that Voldemort was enraged would be an understatement. We are not sure if Severus is going to live."

"Oh no, oh no," Hermione chanted. "What happened? Not the Disappearing Death?"

"No my dear," Dumbledore replied. "Far worse. Voldemort himself held him under the new Cruciatus for minutes on end. His attack was powerful, and he was unrelenting. It is a miracle were we able to transport Severus back to the castle without killing him. Poppy is doing all that she can, and the potions to limit the effects of the regular curse are helping. No one has ever spoken after having this curse used on them, and I'm afraid Severus may never even wake up.

"I am afraid that your mission is even more important now. We have no knowledge of Voldemort's plans, and have very few ways to protect ourselves. Will you join me in my office please?"

Harry and Hermione followed, stunned. Once they arrived they got straight to business- Hermione first applied the glamour charms. Harry's eyes were turned brown, a much more common color, and his jaw became a little squarer. There was nothing that could be done about his scar, but with only those slight changes he looked remarkably different. Hermione then conjured a mirror so she could change herself. She was getting better at doing it without, but they were hoping it would never come to that. Her hair color was darkened, it matched Harry's now, and it was tamed considerably. She also reduced her height a few inches, making Harry a bit taller than her.

"Very good Ms. Granger, that's the fastest you've done it so far," Dumbledore praised. "Now let's pretend I'm headmaster Dippet again." Dumbledore cleared his throat and changed his voice slightly before he started again. Even though times were dark, it still cheered the students up to hear their headmaster acting so silly. "I received your owls last week Mr. and Ms. Potter, and I am very glad you have decided to come to Hogwarts for your continued education. I must agree that it is important to make sure you receive a proper education, especially right before the O.W.L.s. Now, it says here that you have been homeschooled, could you elaborate?"

"Of course sir. Our parents are traveling researchers, working for the Ministry of Magic. Though not technically Unspeakables, a lot of their research was for the Department of Mysteries, and was very secret. We moved at least once every year, if not more, and have spent most of our lives under the Fidelius charm. We've been doing really well at our end of year exams, but our parents were worried that the constant traveling would be too much of a distraction our O.W.L. year. And, well, honestly sir it would be great to be able to stay in one place for an extended period of time. You can't make many friends when you're traveling like that," Harry explained.

"Perfect Mr. Potter," Dumbledore praised. "And I must say Ms. Granger, that was a brilliant cover story. Claiming to be under Fidelius will help if anyone tries to get any details from you about where you were visiting. You decided on five different countries correct?"

"France, Africa, Canada, Egypt, and Australia," the two students chorused.

Dumbledore chuckled. "Well, it seems you both have your stories down. I've finished creating every document I think you'll need. I have everything from magical birth certificates to fishing licenses, should the need ever arise. The documents you'll need to send to the headmaster are in a separate folder, make sure that these are sent to him as soon as you arrive."

He handed a small brown folder to Hermione, and she stashed it in her magically expanded emergency robe pocket. Harry laughed at her when she first started spelling the pockets onto her robes, but he had to admit that it was brilliant. Each robe had a set of basic first aid potions, several doses of Polyjuice, several hundred galleons (since it will be impossible for them to open Gringotts accounts), and mirrors. It was extremely important that their glamours were always on, so though silly, the mirrors were necessary.

"I'm not sure you two could be any better prepared. Please enjoy your lunches, and spend the rest of your day saying your goodbyes. We will meet tomorrow morning at nine o'clock, and then your adventure shall truly begin."

* * *

Another chapter, yay.  
The next one will have some time travelin' fun, woo.  
I might have been over-explaining some points, but I wanted to make sure that I caught all the usual time travel problems, such as explaining their pasts believably.  
The beginning of the next chapter will be Hermione's checklist, which should answer some more questions.

Thanks for reading!


	3. Wands? Check Cheese? Cheno

A Good War

By: Smithereens

Chapter Three: Wands? Check. Cheese? Che-no.

"Hermione if you go through that list one more time, I swear-"

"We need to make sure we're prepared _Harold_! It could mean life or death if everything isn't done! So shut up and let me go through it. All I need you to do is pay enough attention to say 'check' if it's something that we've gotten ready."

"Ugh."

**Items Necessary for Trip**

**[X] Trunks**

"Check."

**[X] School robes, house crest removed, altered to match 1940's dress code**

"Check. The collars look so weird, I wonder when they end up changing them."

**[X] One plain pointed black hat.**

"Check. I hate my hat."

**[X] Plain clothing for casual dress and for wearing under school robes**

"Check. Won't we need dress robes too?"

"We'll buy them once we get there, it'll be too hard to match the current styles. Well, for me anyway. I would imagine that yours won't look to too different. We're waiting anyway though."

**[X] One pair protective gloves, dragonhide or similar**

"Check."

**[X] One winter cloak, black with silver fastenings **

"Check. Mine's a bit faded though, think we can get new ones when we get there?"

"I'll think about it. We might have to anyway, so that they match what the current students are wearing. We need to blend in as much as possible."

**[X] All tags or other labels removed from clothing, new name tags inserted**

"We better have gotten all of the tags, I don't think I've ever looked so hard at clothes before. Do you really thing someone would care so much that our clothes are from places they've never heard of?"

"I already told you, we can't take that chance. We don't want to bring back any evidence from the future. I'll check mine again later to make sure all of my tags read 'Hermione Potter' now."

"Yeah, because you've only checked them ten times so far."

"I will hex you Harry."

**[ ] School books and other supplies**

"No check, we're getting those once we get there right?"

"Correct, we'll go shopping for all of our school supplies after our meeting with Headmaster Dippet. It'll be too difficult to find the correct editions of all of the required books right now. Now if anyone asks about our other supplies, what do we tell them?"

"Our parents let us buy brand new cauldrons, crystal phials, telescopes, and scales as a gift. They didn't want us to have to use our old supplies, especially since this is our O.W.L. year."

"Perfect."

**[X] Self sizing wand holsters, ankle and wrist**

"Check. Not that we could possibly lose them though."

"True. It's just especially important, since we'll be getting new wands."

**[X] Wands**

"Check. Well, for me anyway. Can't speak for you."

"That is a check. Okay, that's it for supplies. I'll read through what we'll be doing once we're there."

"Ugh."

"Oh shut up."

**Trip Schedule**

**1. Arrive in Shrieking Shack approximately 2 weeks before term starts, check glamours.  
2. Take the floo in the Three Broomsticks to the Leaky Cauldron.  
3. Book a room for the remainder of summer.  
4. Go to Post Office, send owl to Headmaster Dippet.  
5. Wait for reply.**

"He should reply fairly quickly, so my guess is that we'll have 2 or 3 days before we have to meet him. I think we should spend that time observing people in Diagon Alley."

"You want us to spend 3 days watching people? They're going to think we're bonkers."

"Honestly Harry, we're not going to stand in the middle of the road and stare people down. We just want to make sure that we blend in well enough. For example, all of our socks are white. What if everyone back then wore black socks? We'd need to go buy new socks. We need to watch for things like that."

"Socks? That's the best example you could come up with?"

"I thought I told you earlier to shut it."

**6. Meet with the Headmaster.  
7. Get sorted.  
8. Buy school supplies and dress robes.  
9. Take Knight Bus to King's Cross.  
10. Do our best to prevent Tom Riddle from making horcruxes.**

"So, I think that's pretty much it. The money the headmaster gave us is more than enough to last us through Hogwarts, but we will need to make sure our grades are good so that we can get jobs after we graduate."

"Of course it all comes back to grades."

"Exactly. Stop being sarcastic. The only problem I can think of is that we might not get sorted into Slytherin. If the hat is listening but it still won't do Slytherin, try for Ravenclaw. It's the only other house the Slytherin's can stand."

"I'm sorry Hermione, but I really don't think I'm cut out to be in Ravenclaw."

"Just try, please. If we're both in Gryffindor again then it'll be almost impossible to get close to Tom. The house rivalry between Slytherin and Gryffindor has always been ridiculous. But then there is always the chance that the hat may refuse to sort us at all."

"What? But that's what it _does_, it sorts people."

"Yes, but it is sentient, it can tell that we've already been sorted and it will know that we're from the future. The headmaster doesn't seem to think it will blurt out our secret, but could you imagine the consequences?"

"Yeah yeah, I get your point. I think it will realize how important this is. Do we have a backup plan though, just in case?"

"I've talked to the headmaster about a few of them, and he seems to think that it would be best if I… well, it's extremely illegal, but he thinks I can manage it, and it would really be all for the best if I do it, but I can't believe that-"

"Hermione. What does he want you to do?"

"He's taught me how to erect a Confundus ward. It would have the same effect as the spell, but it will catch all the portraits in the office as well as Headmaster Dippet."

"Okay. That sounds like a great backup plan to me. So, can we get going already?"

"Harry he wants me to cast an illegal spell on the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"

"Yeah. I got that. So?"

"You are _impossible_."

* * *

After a tearful goodbye to Hermione's parents the previous evening, Harry and Hermione stood with Headmaster Dumbledore in his office. They each took a lemon drop and tried not to fidget too much.

"Here comes the final check. You have attached expanded pockets on all of your robes, correct?"

"Yes sir," said Hermione, "I even expanded the pockets of our casual clothing, so even if we're not wearing our robes we'll have access to our collection of emergency items."

"Very good Miss Potter," Dumbledore beamed, thrilled that these two students were so prepared. He hated that they had to do this, but he was so glad that they had such a good chance of success. "You also have the documents I gave you, correct?"

"Sir I think we have about twenty copies of all of the documents. Hermione went a little crazy with the duplication charms," Harry said, "And now half of our clothes have those stashed into the pockets as well."

"Very good! You never know when those will come in handy. I just ask that you do not read the letter I wrote myself unless the situation absolutely calls for it."

"I hadn't even made a copy of that. Should I, just in case?" asked Hermione.

"Yes. Just in case," answered Dumbledore. He appeared thoughtful for a few moments, but then returned his attention to the students, a happy grin plastered to his face. It did not reach his eyes though, there wasn't even a hint of a twinkle.

"Allow me to get you going, no reason to dawdle when you're ready!" he said excitedly.

"Alright, yes, let's go," said Harry, apprehensive but still excited.

"Yes, I do believe we're ready to go," Hermione agreed.

Albus did not exactly dread this, but neither was he entirely happy. The creation of the Time Portal that would send them back would very likely drain all of his magic. His body was too frail to continue living without the aid of magic, and he knew he would die as soon as they went through. He of course had not told the students what he was going to do, and Hermione had not even asked. Even if they had opposed his choice, he was very sure they would still have gone. With the fate of the world on their shoulders, they really could not refuse.

He wondered about the time paradox. He was going to die soon, but yet, he was still going to be alive and teaching Harold and Hermione in 1942. Would he still cross over then, or would his spirit be thrust back in time as well? Oh this was going to be quite interesting. 'Quit dallying Albus, and get to it,' he mentally chastised himself, and he smiled once more at the students before creating the Time Portal.

Harry and Hermione stood in awe as the office swirled around them. After a few dizzying moments, a small nondescript door appeared next the Headmaster's desk.

"Go swiftly, and with the knowledge that the world owes you a great debt for your sacrifice," Dumbledore said, fighting hard to keep his voice natural. "Thank you so much for this."

"Good bye sir, see you soon," said Harry as he grabbed Hermione's hand and walked towards the door.

"Good bye," Hermione said quietly, tears filling her eyes as she saw how weakened the headmaster was. She gave one more small wave as Harry led her through.

A beautiful blue light filled the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The light continued on, filling the castle, then spreading over the grounds. In moments Europe was covered, and not ten seconds later, the light filled the Earth. Albus smiled, and welcomed Death knowing that for once in his life, he made the right choice.

* * *

Yes, this one was half as short as the last one.  
I had been sitting on it a while though, and I decided that 1942 needed its own chapter.  
As I've been writing this, I've also been writing Dumbledore's past. He's not exactly a bad guy in this story, but he isn't without fault. Would that be something you would want to read alongside this story, or would you want to wait and have that as a sort of sequel? Is it something you would even want to read at all?  
I was considering posting them as chapters in this story, as a sort of interlude.  
If you're interested at all, let me know!  
And please let me know if I've screwed something up horribly, it's difficult to catch the inconsistencies when dealing with time travel.

Thanks for reading!


End file.
